''The House of Men'' (''Maison basse'') is a novel by French writer

Marcel Aymé Marcel Aymé (29 March 1902 – 14 October 1967) was a French novelist and playwright, who also wrote screenplays and works for children. Biography Marcel André Aymé was born in Joigny, in the Burgundy region of France, the youngest of si ...

that tells the story of a group of tenants living in a large, modern, and soulless Parisian building that faces a small detached house that presents itself, by contrast, as an oasis of humanity. The novel was written between the autumn of 1934 and the beginning of 1935, and originally appeared as a serial in ''Marianne'' between 17 April and 19 June 1935 before being published by Gallimard shortly thereafter.

Synopsis

The action of the novel takes place in the Epinettes district of Paris's 17th arrondissement during the 1930s, against the backdrop of an economic crisis and the seizure of power in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. The story, punctuated by the ongoing

suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

attempts of a tenant, begins with the death of the elderly spinster who owns the building, and ends with the tragic death of a little girl who dies of fright because she dares not call for help. Everything takes place in an atmosphere of indifference and hostility between the tenants; only the small, low house presents itself as an oasis of humanity.

English translations

''Maison basse'' has been translated into English once as ''The House of Men'' by

Norman Denny Norman George Denny (1901–1982), also known under the pseudonyms Norman Dale and Bruce Norman, was an English writer and translator. He was born in Kent, later living for two years in Mexico City where his father was a mining engineer, before ...

for

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

in 1952.

References

1935 French novels Éditions Gallimard books Novels by Marcel Aymé {{1930s-novel-stub